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Photos capture exact moment dad delivers baby in front seat of car

Noah and Lauren Strunk were on their way to the hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, when they realized baby Parker wasn't going to wait.
/ Source: TODAY

It's a photo worth a thousand words — and then some.

A Florida photographer captured the exact moment dad Noah Strunk caught his newborn son in the front seat of their car, after he and wife Lauren realized they weren't going to make it all the way inside the hospital.

"I was frantically saying the baby is coming, the baby is coming," Lauren Strunk, 35, told TODAY. "I said, 'you've got to catch this baby,' and he said, 'right now?' I said, 'yes, right now!'"

Lauren Strunk, 35, gave birth to her second child in a hospital parking lot with her husband, Noah Strunk, also 35, by her side.
'A dad who can't believe what just happened but is trying to process everything,' Noah Strunk said of this photo. Jaiden Photography

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She had gone into labor earlier that evening at home in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, but the couple thought they had plenty of time. They waited for a babysitter to arrive to watch their other son, 3-year-old Harrison, before driving to the hospital. Stephanie Knowles, their birth photographer, followed behind them, along with Strunk's mother.

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"We were in a caravan," Strunk said.

Everyone realized something was wrong when Noah, 35, started speeding.

Lauren Strunk, 35, gave birth to her second child in a hospital parking lot with her husband, Noah Strunk, also 35, by her side.
Noah Parker van Rhyn Strunk, who goes by Parker, was born on Feb. 22. His name is a nod to his unique birth story. Jaiden Photography

"I whipped into the hospital, missed my turn, we ended up at the front entrance, which was closed," he told TODAY. "I was trying to turn around and (Lauren) stopped me pretty adamantly and said, 'You have to put the car in park, you need to come over here and catch the baby.'"

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He did just that, and Knowles made the split-second decision to whip out her camera, while Strunk's mother ran to the hospital's intercom to alert staff.

"Probably from the time I got out of my seat and got to the other side of the car, within 2 to 3 minutes, little Parker was birthed and sitting on Mom's lap," Noah Strunk said. "So they really had no chance to help."

Lauren Strunk, 35, gave birth to her second child in a hospital parking lot with her husband, Noah Strunk, also 35, by her side.
Lauren Strunk, 35, smiles at her new baby. Jaiden Photography

Noah Parker van Rhyn Strunk, who goes by Parker, was born on Feb. 22.

"The name (Parker) is an ode to his unconventional birth place," his dad added. "We thought it fit."

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Knowles had been the family's photographer for a few years, but this was her first job as a birth photographer. The Strunks are thrilled by the photos, which went viral after being shared on Facebook.

Lauren Strunk, 35, gave birth to her second child in a hospital parking lot with her husband, Noah Strunk, also 35, by her side.
The couple wait for help to arrive after baby Parker was born in the front seat of their car. Jaiden Photography

"You can see this raw emotion on my face," Noah Strunk said. "It's very much a moment of love, and anxiety over whether I did everything right. This was of course my first birth — my training is more in finance, not medicine. There's the awe, the power of the moment, and love for my family."

"She definitely captured the moment well — a new mom smiling at her baby, laughing out of shock, a dad who can't believe what just happened but is trying to process everything, and then little Parker," he added.